District 14
by SteamIsBetter
Summary: "Mommy? Read me that story again."
1. Chapter 1

"Mommy? Read me that story again."

It is a cold night in District 10. The wind whips through the few trees, chilling those who are unfortunate enough not to have a fireplace to the bone. But in a small house, near the slaughterhouse, two people are as comfortable as can be- a young woman and her daughter.

They are by their own small fireplace, sitting in an ancient chair; the little girl curled up in her mother's arms as she speaks.

The mother laughs, tousling her child's curly brown hair. "Again, Linnet? You've must have heard it a thousand times!"

Linnet, the young girl, grins at her mother in a way only an eight year old can pull off. "Yeah, but it's so good!"

"Alright," The mother sighs. "When Panem was crea-"

"No," Linnet whines. "I want the book version. The one with the fake maps and all that."

"Fine. Get up, then."

Linnet obliges as the mother stands up, walking over to a small shelf, where an old book lies. As she takes it, Linnet jumps up and down excitedly, her brown curls flying and her blue eyes alight in delight.

"This is the story of District 14," Her mother begins, once they get back in the chair. Together, they read the ancient text.

_Once, in the beginning of Panem, it was decided by the wonderful Capitol that there would be 13 districts- made public. But they also decided on a District 14, made secret, since they were slightly tentative about this one. They decided that the industry of District 14...would be beauty itself. It would produce art, music, books, singing, dancing...beauty._

_They conducted an experiment. They paved away a spot, sending a group of 50, the most talented people in Panem, to go live there- or at least tried to._

_The experiment went well- until the Dark Days, when there was a hideous rebellion. As time went on, the Capitol forgot about the group- and District 14 was never made. There are legends however, of some people mysteriously appearing in districts, never saying where they came from. And then-_

From there, the two stop, for a huge chunk of the book is taken away.

"Show me the map, Mommy," Linnet pleads as her mother flips to it. In the book, there is a map of Panem, showing all 13 districts- plus the fantasy of the 14.

"It's right by our District," Linnet giggles. "In the woods. How silly would that be, to live in the woods?"

"Yes..." Her mother says, but has a dreamy look in her eye, as though she's far off.

"Mommy? Does District 14 REALLY exist?"

There is a pause in the house, in which you can only hear the crackle of the flames.

"Of course not," The mother says firmly, but with a look of both fear and anger. "Now isn't it time for bed with you? Remember, you start your feeding job tomorrow."

"Yes, Mommy."

Linnet slumps as she gets up, looking sad as she goes over to her room, leaving the mother alone in the room.

"Oh, Linnet..." The mother sighs. "Someday, you'll have to know..."


	2. Chapter 2

~5 years later~

"Your mom told you that story again?'"

Linnet, or Linny, as she liked to be called now, paused, hearing the voice. She looked up at the source from the cow she was milking, craning her neck to find the boy who had said these words.

It was early morning in D10, a time where most workers in the Milking Plant would rather be in bed. Needless to say, Linny wasn't in a mood to be talked to right now.

"Over here, darling."

She whipped her head around to face the milking station opposite to her, which was big enough to hold an Ayrshire cow and a boy.

The boy in question was of stocky build, and two heads higher than Linny, his black hair sticking up in all directions. To anybody in District 10, he would have just looked like an ordinary boy. But to Linny, he meant something else. Her best friend.

She sighed at Busan, running fingers through her dull brown curls. "Yeah. She does it automatically nowadays. I don't see why. I mean-"

"She's going cuckoo," Busan interrupted, adjusting the humungous black glasses on his face. "They're gonna take you to the community home any day now, deeming her to be unfit."

"Quite the optimist today, aren't you?" Linny snapped, returning to her work of wringing udders.

"No, no! I-I didn't mean to...I was just being realistic, is all. You've got to see the signs."

Linny turned slowly to him, her face wide with both curiosity and anger. "What signs?"

"GET BACK TO WORK, 42546 and 42551!" The overseer's loud voice boomed over the entire plant over the loudspeakers, referring to Linnet and Busan by employee numbers.

The pair hastily returned to the job of milking cattle, pressing a buzzer every time a bucket was full and a cow was done, signaling the plant to know to bring more cattle in.

It was a quiet job- until ten minutes later.

Busan turned to Linnet once more. "It's not safe to talk here. You and me, when shift ends."

* * *

Five hours later, Linny stood up, putting her shift card in and out as she looked around for Busan leaving as well. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Must have banked into his vacation card a little," Linnet said to herself, shrugging as she went outside. But still, she felt uneasy somehow.

"Linnet?"

She turned to face a skinny boy her age, one with brown, unkempt hair and light, cyan eyes like hers. One of Busan's friends. What was his name? Darix? Dimer?

She glanced towards his employee badge, which read DALTON DERN. EMPLOYEE 42531. That was easy enough.

"Yes?" She asked nervously.

"Did you see Busan?" He asked. "When he left? He usually gives me something when he leaves."

"Like what?"

"Never you mind," Dalton snapped back, his narrow face flushed. "Did you see him, though?"

"Yeah, I did before," Linny grinned, happy that she had touched a nerve. "He went to a different station after three hours of the shift."

"Can you track him down with me?" Dalton asked. "It's kind of important."

"Fine. But first..."

Linnet grinned evilly as she held out the pause. "You have to tell me what he gives you."

Dalton rolled his eyes. "Girls...Fine. He gives me a cigarette."

"Thought those were illegal?" I asked, cocking my head slightly.

He snickered. "Wow. Just wow. Wake up, girl. You're thirteen. You should know by now that there's more to life than the public market. Now, let's go. We're starting to attract attention. Let's start in the center and work our way from there."

With that, we broke into a run, heading for the Square.

And that's when we heard the scream.


End file.
